| / English Dictionary |
DRY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: dried , drier , driest , dryer , dryest
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("dry" is a kind of...):
crusader; meliorist; reformer; reformist; social reformer (a disputant who advocates reform)
Instance hyponyms:
Carry Amelia Moore Nation; Carry Nation; Nation (United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911))
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard; Willard (United States advocate of temperance and women's suffrage (1839-1898))
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages
Example:
no thank you; I happen to be teetotal
Synonyms:
dry; teetotal
Classified under:
Similar:
sober (not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol))
Derivation:
dryness (moderation in or abstinence from alcohol or other drugs)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Lacking warmth or emotional involvement
Example:
a dry critique
Classified under:
Similar:
unemotional (unsusceptible to or destitute of or showing no emotion)
Derivation:
dryness (objectivity and detachment)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having a large proportion of strong liquor
Example:
a very dry martini is almost straight gin
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
alcoholic (characteristic of or containing alcohol)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Without a mucous or watery discharge
Example:
that rare thing in the wintertime; a small child with a dry nose
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
phlegmy (characterized by phlegm)
Derivation:
dryness (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Sense 5
Meaning:
Humorously sarcastic or mocking
Example:
with a wry Scottish wit
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
humorous; humourous (full of or characterized by humor)
Derivation:
dryness (objectivity and detachment)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(of food) eaten without a spread or sauce or other garnish
Example:
dry meat
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
plain (not elaborate or elaborated; simple)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Having no adornment or coloration
Example:
rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical manner
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
plain (not elaborate or elaborated; simple)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Unproductive especially of the expected results
Example:
a mind dry of new ideas
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unproductive (not producing or capable of producing)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Used of solid substances in contrast with liquid ones
Example:
dry weight
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
solid (of definite shape and volume; firm; neither liquid nor gaseous)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Lacking interest or stimulation; dull and lifeless
Example:
dull and juiceless as only book knowledge can be when it is unrelated to...life
Synonyms:
dry; juiceless
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unexciting; unstimulating (not stimulating)
Sense 11
Meaning:
(of liquor) having a low residual sugar content because of decomposition of sugar during fermentation
Example:
a dry Bordeaux
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
brut ((of champagne) extremely dry)
medium-dry (of a wine that is dry but not extremely dry)
sec; unsweet ((of champagne) moderately dry)
Also:
nonsweet; sugarless (not containing sugar)
sour (having a sharp biting taste)
Antonym:
sweet ((used of wines) having a high residual sugar content)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Not shedding tears
Example:
with dry eyes
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
dry-eyed; tearless (free from tears)
Derivation:
dryness (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Sense 13
Meaning:
Free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
Example:
the paint is dry
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
thirsty (needing moisture)
semi-dry (somewhat dry)
semiarid (somewhat arid)
rainless (lacking rain)
kiln-dried (dried in a kiln)
dry-shod (having or keeping the feet or shoes dry)
dried-up; sear; sere; shriveled; shrivelled; withered ((used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture)
dried-up (depleted of water)
dried (not still wet)
desiccated; dried-out (thoroughly dried out)
bone-dry; bone dry (without a trace of moisture; as dry as a weathered bone)
arid; waterless (lacking sufficient water or rainfall)
air-dry (not giving off moisture on exposure to the air)
air-dried (made dry by contact with unheated air)
adust; baked; parched; scorched; sunbaked (dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight)
Attribute:
wetness (the condition of containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Antonym:
wet (covered or soaked with a liquid such as water)
Derivation:
dryness (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Sense 14
Meaning:
Not producing milk
Example:
a dry cow
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
milkless (having no milk)
Antonym:
wet (producing or secreting milk)
Derivation:
dryness (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Sense 15
Meaning:
Opposed to or prohibiting the production and sale of alcoholic beverages
Example:
a dry state
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
wet (supporting or permitting the legal production and sale of alcoholic beverages)
Sense 16
Meaning:
Lacking moisture or volatile components
Example:
dry paint
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
wet (containing moisture or volatile components)
Derivation:
dryness (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they dry ... he / she / it dries
Past simple: dried
Past participle: dried
-ing form: drying
Sense 1
Meaning:
Remove the moisture from and make dry
Example:
dry hair
Synonyms:
dry; dry out
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "dry" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Cause:
dry; dry out (become dry or drier)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dry"):
dehydrate; desiccate; dry up; exsiccate (lose water or moisture)
dehydrate; desiccate (remove water from)
spin-dry (dry (clothes) by spinning and making use of centrifugal forces)
tumble dry (dry by spinning with hot air inside a cylinder)
spray-dry (dry by bringing into the form of a spray, through contact with a hot gas)
dehumidify (make less humid)
parch; sear (cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat)
rough-dry (dry without smoothing or ironing)
blow-dry (dry hair with a hair dryer)
drip-dry (dry by hanging up wet)
air (expose to warm or heated air, so as to dry)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Antonym:
wet (cause to become wet)
Derivation:
drier (an appliance that removes moisture)
drier (a substance that promotes drying (e.g., calcium oxide absorbs water and is used to remove moisture))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Become dry or drier
Example:
The laundry dries in the sun
Synonyms:
dry; dry out
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "dry" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dry"):
scorch (become scorched or singed under intense heat or dry conditions)
dry out; run dry (become empty of water)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
drier (an appliance that removes moisture)
drier (a substance that promotes drying (e.g., calcium oxide absorbs water and is used to remove moisture))
Context examples:
There he was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Today the Kalahari's wettest areas receive 20 inches of rain each year; its driest, four to eight inches.
(Sleeping sands of the Kalahari awaken after more than 10,000 years, NSF)
The researchers noted that "the positive direction of the effects indicate that wider noses are more common in warm-humid climates, while narrower noses are more common in cold-dry climates."
(Nose Form Was Shaped by Climate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
I covered it carefully with dry wood and leaves and placed wet branches upon it; and then, spreading my cloak, I lay on the ground and sank into sleep.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
The captain, on his part, never spoke but when he was spoken to, and then sharp and short and dry, and not a word wasted.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
A drug used to increase salivation in people who have dry mouth caused by opioids or radiation therapy.
(Pilocarpine, NCI Dictionary)
The essential oil of Perilla frutescens (note: the seed oil is the more common, traditionally used as a lamp oil and as drying oil finish).
(Perilla frutescens Leaf Oil, NCI Thesaurus)
The paranasal sinuses open into the nasal cavity (space inside the nose) and are lined with cells that make mucus to keep the nose from drying out during breathing.
(Paranasal sinus, NCI Dictionary)
Petrolatum is used on the skin to prevent drying and to help heal scrapes and burns.
(Petrolatum, NCI Dictionary)
Petroleum jelly is used on the skin to prevent drying and to help heal scrapes and burns.
(Petroleum jelly, NCI Dictionary)
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